Faith and Values: On teachers, questions and a critical spirituality

February 15, 2013|By Lloyd Steffen, Special to The Morning Call

While asking questions of his students, the ancient Greek philosopher-teacher Socrates poked the air with his finger. He was amazed to see that his students seemed not so much to be listening to what he was saying as they were engrossed in watching his finger.

He had become what we might call today a "celebrity," an entertainer, a kind of "Greek idol" rather than a teacher. The students were less interested in learning and being challenged than they were being part of an "in crowd" and having their identity tied to the notoriety of their teacher.

Whether this story is true or not — and that is always a good question to ask — there is no doubt that the person of the teacher can get in the way of the teaching, and that the cult of personality can interfere with the sometimes hard work of learning to be independent of thought and critical.

By "critical," I do not mean an eagerness to criticize, which is often a sign of intellectual immaturity, but rather the ability to question, examine and evaluate. Critical thinkers might offer criticisms, but they are also inclined to show openness toward new ideas and even an appreciation for things they may not have thought about before. They question things.

At first glance, it might appear that in the religious life, a questioning critical intelligence is not highly valued. After all, does religion not stress the ability to believe, the capacity for faith and the willingness to trust? Where is the questioning?

The assumption that critical questioning is not important to spiritual growth ought to be questioned, and we should remember Socrates, who as a great teacher, had no interest in producing a school of finger-gazers. He understood that critical questions have to be asked of the ideas we most cherish and the people we most admire, those who have been our teachers, even those things we identify with religion and the sacred. Good students have questions and ask them, and good teachers expect them so that they may themselves continue to learn.

Questioning is as important in the religious life, where faith is at issue, as it is in any secular learning situation. It was a question, "Who is my neighbor?" that led Jesus to come up with a Good Samaritan parable that grounded for all time a distinctive ethic that continues to challenge those who identify as Christian even today.

In the Hebrew Bible, Job receives many questions both from friends, to whom he responds, "How long will you torment me, and break me in pieces with words?" and from God, whom he asks, "Why didst thou bring me forth from the womb?"

The Protestant Reformation pursued the idea that people were to bring their questions to the sacred scriptures and not simply accept someone else's interpretation, not even that of the church hierarchy or the local priest.

Everyone was to accept responsibility for being the interpreter — "everyone his or her own priest." This was an awesome responsibility many people do not want to accept. We know from history that some who questioned Catholic authority and became Protestants fell into orthodoxies of interpretation that cut off questioning, considering it impious and intolerable. When religious teaching bows uncritically to interpretive authority, the result is another version of Socrates' finger.

The work of interpretation, examination and evaluation requires that people bring their own experience — and their own questions — to their reading and study. And teachers have to be questioned. Buddha said: "Just as people test the purity of gold by burning it in fire, by cutting it and examining it on a touchstone, so exactly you should, O ye monks, accept my words after subjecting them to a critical test and not out of reverence for me."

The Buddha knew about the cult of personality and urged his followers to subject his interpretations to evaluation so that they might learn and gain wisdom. Minds are not vessels to be filled but little engines that need to be fueled and tuned. Questions are the fuel and teachers the tuners. The good teacher will inspire students to question.

Questioning can become a self-conscious spiritual practice, and questions are asked within faith about the most important matters of faith. It is commonplace for religions to rely on questions to produce teachings that examine the mysteries of faith — the answers are often provided, but it is still important that the questions are asked: "What help is there for us" asks the Book of Common Prayer; "Who made us?" the Baltimore Catechism.

The Buddha was asked "14 Unanswerable Questions" that he said were a "net" that ensnared the mind in unhelpful theories and speculation, which then distracted from the work of liberation. The Buddha responded to the questions with silence, and that was the teaching from which to learn. But the 14 questions were asked and they were worthy of being asked.

To ask questions about spiritual matters ought to be expected and encouraged. Job would not have achieved wisdom without questions, and Christianity would not have its Good Samaritan teaching had a question not come forward.

As the first of the Four Reliances in Buddhism directs us to rely on the message rather than on the person of the teacher, we should continue to ask questions that matter to us, that are our critical questions grounded in our experience. Examine, interrogate, evaluate, question — these are not simply the hallmarks of an educated person but requirements for learning to live the spiritual life with depth and purpose.

Lloyd Steffen is professor of religion studies and university chaplain at Lehigh University, lhs1@lehigh.edu.